


The Life and Death of Carmen Maria Davis

by Mttproductions



Series: The Saga of Carmen Davis and Dimitri “Bob Hoffstetler” Mosenkov [2]
Category: The Shape of Water (2017)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Mutual Pining, OC X CANON, Original Character - Freeform, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Romance, Trans Female Character, ill add tags as i update this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-04-07 17:10:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14085672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mttproductions/pseuds/Mttproductions
Summary: This is the story of how Carmen Maria Davis fell for a Russian scientist who needed someone just as much as she needed him.





	1. Prologue

Carmen Maria Davis was born under the name of Samuel Cameron Davis on January 3rd, 1921. Her childhood was like any other average American child, and after she graduated high school, she went into the army. In her mind, however, she knew she made a terrible mistake.

The army had put her through the wringer over and over again. She was naturally shorter and smaller than most assigned male at birth people at her age. She was only in a few battles, but the memories of them would still haunt her years later. Not to mention spending so much time around men was messing with her identity.

Carmen realized that she was not a man like she was told she was. She left the army when she was twenty-one. She tried to explain to her parents what she was, but her parents shunned and disowned her. As she began her transition, she had nowhere to go except the streets.

The only job Carmen could find was performing sex work. While some of the other workers enjoyed their jobs immensely, Carmen never wanted to have to work like that. Sex work was the only job Carmen could get. She was working the streets for seven years. She finally had the opportunity to stop when she was hired as a janitor at the Occam facility in Baltimore.

Occam saved her life in more ways than one. The first, it gave her enough money to quit prostitution and finally have her own apartment to sleep in. She had a stable source of income and felt relatively safe for the first time since childhood. The second way Occam saved her can’t simply be explained in a paragraph. Occam give her something to live for. That is what this story is about.

This is the story of how Carmen Maria Davis fell for a Russian scientist who needed someone just as much as she needed him.


	2. The Asset

The loud dinging of an alarm rang throughout the bedroom. Carmen groaned as she awoke, and clumsily ran her hand along the bedside table until it came in contact with the alarm clock. She shut it off and rubbed her eyes as her body started to wake up. Slowly, she sat up and stretched her arms up, then let out a yawn. 

 

One of the only things she hated about her job, other than having to clean up urine on a daily basis, was having the sleep schedule of an owl. She sleeps all through the day and works the whole night. Being nocturnal, however, was a small price to pay in order to stay off the streets. Despite working at Occam for ten years, Carmen never forgets the years she was homeless. 

 

Carmen went over to her closet and started the process of choosing what to wear. She was very particular about what she wore and when she wore it. She knew her clothes were an integral part of her ability to ‘pass’ as a person born as female, and being able to pass meant she would be safe for another day. The outside world was a dangerous place for anyone born different than the majority.

 

After thumbing through ten different dresses, she finally decided on what to wear. It was a rather simple garment; a blue knee-length short sleeved dress, with a white collar and black shoes to match. She took her outfit and set it down in the bathroom, then started the water for her bath. As she waited for the water to fill the tub, Carmen took the time to brush and floss her teeth. She liked the feeling of having freshly brushed teeth; it made her feel clean. Not to mention if she met a man to take home, her breath wouldn’t smell like last night’s dinner.

 

Carmen turned off the water in the tub and then undressed, her dirty clothes going into the laundry basket next to the tub. She stepped into the tub and let out a sigh as she sat down. The bath was one of the most peaceful times for Carmen. It was one of the only times she could just sit down and think. She also liked to masturbate while in the bath, but she wasn’t in the mood for that this particular morning. 

 

When Carmen was done with her bath, she got out, dried herself, and put her clean dress on. She then meticulously brushed her hair, making sure every single strand was in it’s proper place. Her hair was another thing she took pride in, it was something that also helped her achieve her feminine appearance. Most people don’t see man when they look at her shoulder-length black hair, which is what she desired. All she wanted was to be seen as the woman she was. 

 

Carmen exited the bathroom and went out to her kitchen, but stopped to check the clock on the wall. She murmured and expletive when she realized she only had fifteen minutes to get from her apartment to the bus stop. She ignored her fridge entirely, instead she sat down at the table and put on the shoes she held in her hand. After she did that, she got up, grabbed her jacket, and walked out the apartment door.

Thankfully, the walk to the bus stop only took ten minutes. Usually she would get stopped by one of her neighbors who liked morning conversation, while she only wanted to leave and go to work. She thought back to what said neighbor told her the other day about the new tenant who had moved in two days ago. Perhaps she would go and meet him when she had the time. 

 

The bus ride to Occam was uneventful, as was her arrival and walk to the clock-in station. She watched in front of her as her co-workers Zelda and Yolanda argued over Zelda saving a space in line for their other coworker, Elisa. She thought Yolanda needed to cool her jets. She got along with Elisa and Zelda, and didn’t particularly care for Yolanda’s rudeness.

 

Carmen was one of the only other janitors who learned sign language to communicate with Elisa. She wasn’t the best at it, certainly not like Zelda, but she understood enough to have a conversation. If she didn’t know a sign,she would ask Elisa to fingerspell it for her so she would remember in the future. She liked talking with Elisa; she had never judged Carmen because of who she was. Not many people were like that in Baltimore, or anywhere, really. 

Carmen got changed in one of the single stall restrooms in Occam, because she wasn’t allowed to enter the women’s locker room. She put her clothes in one of the service rooms, in a cabinet. She used to just leave them out, but some particularly malicious janitors would steal them and rip them up because ‘only a real woman could wear a dress’. To Carmen, it was a load of bullshit. She just wanted to come and do her job, just like anyone else in the facility. 

 

She was assigned a new lab to clean that day, and a new office. The lab was labeled as T4, and the office was assigned to Doctor Robert Hoffstetler. Elisa and Zelda were also assigned to T4, but she was the only janitor to clean the office. Carmen had never heard of Dr. Hoffstetler, so she assumed he was the new doctor she overheard Fleming talking about. She assumed he worked in T4 as well, since she heard they were getting a new asset that day.

 

Speaking of T4, it was time for her to go and clean it. She met up with Zelda and Elisa, and they all filed into the large room. They’re appeared to be a large tank and a pool, both filled with water that had algae floating around in it. The ground in front of the pool was covered in trash, and Zelda immediately began to chastise the maintenance crew for not cleaning up after themselves. Fleming quieted her, then gathered everyone’s attention.

Carmen’s attention, however, was drawn over to one of the scientists who stood behind him. There was one she didn’t recognize, a short man with dark hair that was pristinely slicked back and hexagonal shaped glasses that adorned his round face. She was immediately attracted to the man, and the words Fleming spoke were completely drowned out as she stared at the scientist. 

 

Then, Fleming said the only thing that mattered to Carmen. He said the name Robert Hoffstetler, to which the short man took a step forwards and nodded, and Carmen was internally screaming. Not only did she get to see him when she entered the lab, but she would get to clean his office as well. Carmen was ecstatic. Just then, Hoffstetler turned to look at Carmen and they met eyes. Carmen gave him a wink, to which Hoffstetler immediately turned his gaze away. Carmen could swear he saw him blush. Perfect.

 

The doors to T4 opened and large, cylindrical container was wheeled in, garnering everyone’s attention. Carmen mistook it for an iron lung at first, but quickly dismissed the thought. After all, who would have Polio so bad they’d need to be fully engulfed in the machine? Upon further inspection, it appeared to be full of water. Carmen and Zelda both examined the tank, but backed away. Elisa, however, tapped upon the top of the container. A hand bolted up from out of the water to slam against the glass top of the container, and Carmen nearly jumped out of her skin. 

 

“Get them out,” Hoffstetler demanded, approaching the container. Carmen looked at him in shock. Was  _ that  _ the new asset to be housed in Occam? She didn’t even know what the thing was.Before she could get her head around the situation, the cylinder was being dragged away and Fleming was hustling her, Elisa, and Zelda out of the room. Elisa stood behind the door and stared at the cylinder as the door closed, and Zelda had to call her name to get her attention.

 

“Lord, what goes on in this place?” Zelda asked rhetorically. Elisa started talking to her in rapid fire sign, while Carmen trailed along behind them. She had never seen a hand like that before. What aquatic creature in the world has a hand like her own? 

 

What  _ does  _ go on in this place? 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the first chapter of TLaDoCMD! Long title lmao. I'm very excited to write more of this story, and I better be cus this one's gonna be long lol.   
> First off, I hope I got her accurate with then trans woman things. I'm personally a trans man, so I don't know what it's like to a trans woman, let alone a trans woman in the 60s. Because this takes place in the sixties, I imagine passing would be a whole lot more important to folks. I personally do not believe that trans people have to pass to be valid, but this isn't modern times. If anyone finds any of this offensive and it's not intentionally like that for period-typical transphobia, please tell me. I don't want anyone to be upset with my portrayal.  
> I hope everyone enjoys this! New chapter will be out when I write it.


	3. New Neighbors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmen meets her new neighbor from down the hall.

Carmen finished her shift and went home without any more strange happenings, yet she still couldn’t quite get her head wrapped around what that thing was. It clearly wasn’t human, but it resembled no animal she had ever seen before. She decided that the next time she cleaned there she would go and investigate the creature. Until then, however, she had the day ahead of her to complete.

 

Carmen’s days were usually uneventful. While she liked to go out to eat, not many places would accept her for service. Only a few, including a run down Italian pizzeria, would accept her without any complications. Unfortunately, Carmen didn’t care for pizza; not to mention the place always managed to burn the pizzas anyway. The only other thing for her to do was to shop. That was, however, something she liked to do.

 

Clothing and shopping had always been her things to pick her up. If she was looking particularly womanly that day, she could get into most stores without problem and leave with her clothes before anyone noticed she was ‘different’. Of course, to her she wasn’t different at all, but not everyone had the same opinions. Carmen decided that that’s what she would do after she spent some time at home. 

 

Once Carmen got home, she took her shoes off and slung her coat onto the rack by the door. She sighed and stretched up as she began to relax after a hard day at work. When Carmen looked down, a small, furry creature began to wrap itself around Carmen’s leg. Carmen kneeled down and greeted it fondly, running a hand over it’s back, up to it’s tail.

 

“Morning, Babydoll,” Carmen greeted her pet cat. She’d had the cat for 3 years, and he was almost four years old. To Carmen, her cat was her everything. He kept her company in her lonely days spent in her apartment. If she didn’t have him, she would have probably gone crazy from loneliness.

 

Carmen went to feed Babydoll, then sat down on her couch and turned on the TV. It was a small, black and white TV that sat on a small stand in the front of the room. It wasn’t the most impressive thing, but at least it was entertaining. As she watched the TV, everything began to drown out, and before she knew it, Carmen was asleep.

 

She awoke to Babydoll pawing at her face, almost as if he knew she shouldn’t have been sleeping. When she looked at the clock, it read 6pm. Carmen cursed herself for falling asleep. She wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep again, and would have to go to work with less sleep than usual. At least Babydoll didn’t let her sleep  _ all  _ day. However, her plans to go shopping were thrown out the window now.

 

Carmen yawned and cracked her knuckles as she thought of what to do now.  _ Oh yeah _ , she thought. _ I haven’t introduced myself to the new tenant.  _ With what to do sorted out in her mind, Carmen stood up and set off on her task. 

She turned of the TV and set the remote down on the coffee table. She walked to the door, slid her shoes on, murmured a goodbye to Babydoll, and left her room. She racked her brain briefly to remember which room this new tenant was in. The room 202 rang through her mind, and Carmen figured she was  _ probably  _ right, and went down the hall to find said room. When she found it she gave it a good, firm knock.

 

“Can I help y-oh,” Robert Hoffstetler’s voice cut off at the sight of the taller woman in front of him. Carmen was shocked as well to see that her new neighbor happened to be the new cute scientist at her workplace. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think she was in some kind of romance story. She knew nothing like that was true, however. Romance novels never showed the truth of what having a relationship was like.

 

“What a surprise! I didn’t expect you to be my new neighbor,” Carmen chirped, giving Hoffstetler and warm smile. She did want to make a good impression on the man, especially if she was going to try and court the man, which she had a feeling she was going to. He was just too cute not to. 

 

“You were one of the janitors in T4 today, correct?” Hoffstetler asked. Carmen nodded and Hoffstetler returned her smile, though it seemed more forced than anything. “Is there something you need?” He seemed to be impatient to get out of this conversation. Carmen could understand that. Sometimes people just wanted to be alone. She respected that want, and decided to try and end this conversation quick. 

 

“No, nothing like that,” Carmen assured. “I just wanted to introduce myself. I live just down the hall from you. My name is Carmen Davis,” She held her hand out and he shook it firmly, almost as if he saw her as an equal. Not many men she’d met would do that. It was refreshing. 

 

“Honored to meet you, Carmen. I look forwards to working with you, even if we aren’t technically working ‘together’.” Carmen chuckled at that.

 

“Likewise,  _ Doctor _ ,” Carmen added the last word in to flirt with him a bit, and by the appearance of his ears, it seemed like it worked. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time, though, so I’ll be leaving now,” Carmen explained.

 

“Have a good rest of your evening, Miss Davis.”

 

“You too,” Carmen smiled and turned on her heel, then listened for the click of Hoffstetler’s door. As soon as she heard it close she broke out into a large grin. That man did things to her and they barely knew each other at that point. Maybe they’d be closer in the future, but Carmen wasn’t a fortune teller and she doubted Hoffstetler was either. 

 

When Carmen entered her room, she shut the door and slid down against it, then scratched Babydoll’s ear when he approached. Her grin turned into a giggle, and her giggle turned into a full blown laughing fit. She couldn’t believe that man was not only at her work, but also the new tenant. For the first time in Carmen’s life, she could honestly think:

 

_ Thank God for new neighbors. _


	4. Another Day

  
Carmen entered Occam for another day at work. While she woke up and did everything as normal, Carmen felt legitimately excited to go to work for the first time in years. Her plans for the day were to find out what the thing in the lab was and flirt with Hoffstetler, the new scientist and her new neighbor. Taking her reaction from last night into consideration, Carmen knew she was already in deep; but if you took one look at him, could you blame her? He was gorgeous.

Zelda and Yolanda were fighting again over Zelda allowing Elisa to go in front of her, and once again, Carmen rolled her eyes at the bickering. When would Yolanda grow up and just leave it be? As soon as Carmen was clocked-in, she walked off to the bathroom to change.

The beginning of the night progressed without anything out of the ordinary happening. Carmen was beginning to get anxious as the clock approached the time when her, Zelda, and Elisa all met up to clean T4 together. She spotted the two women exiting a bathroom down the hall and decided to join them. Perhaps they could go to T4 early? Carmen doubted it, but she always had hope.

“Oh, you’re not gonna believe what happened, honey,” Zelda remarked as Carmen approached. Carmen cocked an eyebrow at the woman, then turned to look at Elisa, who simply shrugged. “Remember that man in the black coat from yesterday?” Zelda asked, and Carmen had to wrack her brain to remember anything other than how nice Hoffstetler looked in that vest.   
  
“Kind of?” Carmen answered hesitantly. “Why?”

“He came into the bathroom while Elisa and I were cleanin’, right?’ Zelda began. Carmen nodded, going along with her story. “You’d expect him to go to a different bathroom since we’re in there, but he just goes in and starts peein’ in the urinal,” Zelda says. Carmen snorted at the thought. “He started goin on about this cattleprod he had, then said his name is Strickland. Supposedly he’s the new Head of Security.”

“But Fleming’s security.”

“That’s what I said!”

“That guy is weird,” Carmen shook her head at the thought of the man. She knew he’d have to meet him eventually, as he was her new superior, but she wasn’t very excited for it. Conversing with bigots wasn’t a hobby of hers.

“Well, Elisa and I have to finish cleaning out the rest of the bathrooms, we’ll meet up later, alright?” Zelda said, and Carmen nodded in understanding. They went their separate ways, and Carmen’s mind trailed off to thoughts of T4 again; and thoughts of Hoffstetler.  
___________________

Carmen was mopping the floor in the west wing when it happened. She heard three gunshots, then a loud siren go off. She didn’t understand what was going on. Most people pretended like it never happened, so Carmen did too. She was curious as ever, though, and she felt like her curiosity would get the better of her one day. When she went to the cafeteria for dinner, she went to Zelda and Elisa for answers.

“What was that?” Carmen asked them, a feeling of disbelief still in her system.

“Oh, Lord if I know!” Zelda exclaimed. “One moment ‘lisa and I are cleanin’ out trash cans and the next Strickland comes out of T4 clutchin his hand that’s all covered in blood!”

“What?” Carmen gasped in surprise. “Is he okay? What happened to make him bleed like that?”

“Maybe the Russians broke in, who knows,” Zelda chattered on, Elisa butting in a few times to respond or to correct Zelda. Carmen let the conversation fade out as she focused on her own thoughts. This week had been one of the strangest she’d had in a while. The new asset; the new, very attractive scientist; A new head of security; and said head of security wandering out of T4 covered in blood. Carmen wasn’t sure how to process all of it. She had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last strange occurrence she’d have with this ‘Strickland’ guy, and her feeling wasn’t wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof it’s been a hot minute since I added a chapter. Idk how I feel about the ending of this but oh well.


	5. Strickland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lil warning for transphobia and deadnaming in the beginning but dw it gets better

They say he lost two fingers because the creature in T4 bit them off. Carmen didn’t believe them. That is, until she was sitting down in front of the man while he interviewed her.

“You’re not a woman, are you?” Richard Strickland said. Carmen already wanted to dropkick him through the glass windows in the office she was currently in. She just wanted to do her job, then go home. But, like always, Carmen had to worry about asserting herself as the woman she was. Carmen almost felt sympathy for him when she saw his bandaged hand, but any sympathy she had left the minute he opened his mouth.

“Sir, I can assure you I am a woman,” Carmen retorted. “Why do you think I’m sitting here with a dress as a uniform?”

“If that’s true, then why does it say here that your name is Samuel Davis?” Strickland dropped the file he was holding down on his desk and leaned forwards as his glare dug into Carmen’s out fierce gaze. The moment she heard her deadname she wanted to simultaneously kill Strickland, and cry profusely. She hated it with a passion.

“It’s true I wasn’t born a woman, but I am now. I’d appreciate it if you would respect that, Sir. My name is no longer Samuel, it’s Carmen,” She took a deep breath and clasped her hands together in her lap; both to calm her anger and to keep herself from bawling. She was going to need a lot of patience to get through this encounter; something she wasn’t sure she had.

“Okay, whatever, _Carmen_ ,” He practically sneered when he said her name. “I don’t get your whole deal, but you’ve been employed here for almost eleven years, so you must be able to do your job well enough to stay. Heed my warning, though, you aren’t gonna get away with this foo-foo bull for much longer with me in charge. Man up,” Strickland finished his spiel, and Carmen was screeching on the inside.

“It this all you need me for, sir?” She said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, you’re dismissed. Go do your job or whatever,” Strickland waved in the direction of the door, and Carmen immediately got up and left the room. She tried to keep herself collected, but halfway through her walk towards the janitor’s quarters, her anger got the best of her and she had to stop and hide in a restroom as tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn’t deal with it. All she wanted was respect from her peers, and while she’s gotten used to not having it, it still stung.

“Get ahold of yourself, Carmen,” she told herself, then splashed some water on her face. “This isn’t new. You’ve gotten through this before, you can do it again,” she continued and looked up at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was smudged, and she sighed as she got a towel to wipe the mess away. All she had to do was get through the night, then she could go home, see her cat, and watch as much TV as she wants. She kept repeating that thought over and over as she sorted herself out. She didn’t look the best, but at least she wasn’t as disheveled as before.

Carmen exited the bathroom and went to the janitor’s quarters to retrieve her cart. She didn’t have any clear idea of where to clean first, so she let her feet lead her. They just so happened to take her to stand in front of Hoffstetler’s office, and Carmen mentally cursed herself. Of course she’d go here first. Oh well, might as well clean it since she’s here.

Carmen listened for anything coming from inside the room, and heard nothing. She assumed he wasn’t currently in it, and opened the door and walked in. To her surprise, however, Hoffstetler was there, and was now staring her in the eyes. Perfect.

“My apologies, I thought you weren’t in here right now. I’ll come back la-“

“Oh, don’t worry, I was just leaving,” Hoffstetler cut Carmen off before she could finish. Carmen’s eyes widened slightly and she felt her heart beating faster in the man’s presence. He collected a stack of papers into his hands and was about to walk past Carmen and out the door, when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Are you okay?” He asked, concern etched into his voice. Carmen was completely taken aback by that. No one had ever asked how she felt before in the ten years she’d worked at Occam. “You look like something’s troubling you,” He said.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry,” Carmen shook off her concern and forced a smile. Hoffstetler didn’t seem convinced, however.

“It’s not nothing, not if it’s made you upset,” Hoffstetler returned. Carmen’s heart rate increased the more he pressed, and Carmen prayed to every god in existence that he didn’t notice the blush rising to her cheeks. It felt nice for someone to care about her for the first time.

“I’ve just been dealing with a lack of respect,” Carmen explained, “And I guess I let it get to me too much.”

“Why are people disrespecting you?” Hoffstetler cocked his head a bit, and Carmen swore it was the cutest thing she had ever seen. “Is it because you’re a janitor?” Oh. He didn’t know. Carmen’s heart sunk into her chest as her happiness was replaced with dread. He was only being nice to her because he didn’t know about her.

“No, it’s…” Carmen sighed and looked down at her feet. “I’m a woman who was born a man.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I don’t see the problem with that. People really do hate other people for no real reason.”

 _What_? Carmen repeated what he said in her mind, then repeated it again, and again. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. No one had ever said that before.

“You don’t mind?” Carmen asked, still flabbergasted. 

“Of course not, why would I?” He replied.

“You’re the first person to ever say that to me,” Carmen smiled,a real smile, and Hoffstetler gave her a smile back.

“Glad to be the first, even if you deserved it already. I must go now, though, pleasure to talk to you,” Hoffstetler nodded his head at her, like a mini bow, then walked out of the room and down the hall. Carmen watched him go, and leaned against the doorframe and had the dopiest grin on her face.

Carmen broke herself out of her trance and began to clean the office, but her mind kept creating thoughts of Hoffstetler. She never believed in love at first sight, but Hoffstetler was heavily testing that belief.

  
Carmen went home happy that night. She fed her cat, went out for dinner, and came home still happy. Hoffstetler just did that to her. He made her mood do a complete just from one thing he said.

Today was a good day for Carmen. 


	6. Information

A few days had passed, and Carmen still knew next to nothing about the creature in T4. Today, she decided to go to the lab early. She wanted to get there before Elisa and Zelda, to see the asset up close for the first time. However, the room wasn’t as empty as she thought it was.

 

Carmen entered the room to see Elisa sweep around from her position in front of the pool in the back of the lab. Carmen met Elisa’s gaze, but her eyes were quickly diverted to the figure that stood behind her. It was the asset. It was tall and it’s body colored in a thousand brilliant different shades of blue and yellow. It was covered in scales that glimmered in the lights overhead, and it seemed like it’s eyes were shifting in color every few moments. Just like that however, the asset hissed and spread it’s fins at her, then dived back under the water. Elisa turned to see it, almost sad that it swam away. Elisa’s attention turned back to Carmen, though, and walked up to meet her in the center of the room. 

 

“It’s...beautiful,” Carmen murmured, half to herself and half to Elisa. Elisa smiles to herself and nods her head. “I guess i’m not the only one who’s curious about the asset?” Carmen asks, and Elisa turns to stare fondly at the tank, then turns back.

 

_ Don’t tell Zelda _ , she signs.

 

“I won’t, don’t worry,” Carmen assures her. “Don’t tell her I was here and we’re both good.” Elisa smiles and presses her hand against Carmen’s arm playfully. Carmen smiles back. “What do you know about it?” She asks.

 

_ Him _ , Elisa corrected.  _ And I don’t know anything about him so far. _

 

“I think I know a way to find out some more information,” Carmen practically grinned as a thought came to her head. Elisa cocks her eyebrow at her, but Carmen had already turned on her heel and left the lab. She walked in the direction of Dimitri’s office, reviewing her plan in her mind. Flirt with him until her revealed information was pretty much her whole plan. She was used to winging things at this point in her life. When she arrived to the office door, she had to take a moment to collect herself. She took a deep breath in, exhaled, then knocked on the office door. 

 

“Come in,” Hoffstetler called from the other side of the door. Carmen had to take a moment to wipe the grin off her face after she heard him, then she opened the door and stepped in. Carmen could see the the genuine smile that appeared on his face when she walked in, and she already felt confident she was going to come out of this with what she wanted. “Greetings, Miss Davis. How are you doing today?” He asked with warmth in his voice.

 

“Oh, I’m just peachy today, sir. How are you?” Carmen returned with equal warmth. She let a smile curl up the corners of her lips, and she hoped it was viewed as seductive instead of her holding back a massive dopey grin. She watched as Hoffstetler’s eyes wandered to her lips for a split second before cutting back up to her eyes. Score.

 

“Well, I’m doing just fine,” He replied. The tone of fondness in his voice could have made Carmen die of happiness right at that very moment. She wondered who really was being seduced here. Carmen shut the door behind her and sat down in the seat across from Hoffstetler’s desk. She crossed her legs when she sat down, just to get that extra bit of leg to show. She knew just a little leg could drive a man crazy. “Is there something wrong, Miss Davis?” He asked. Carmen could feel him restraining himself from staring and she felt wave of satisfaction.

 

“No sir, I just have a few questions I’d like to ask you,” Carmen said, steepling her hands in her lap. “You are rather intelligent, and provided you work in the lab…”

 

“You’re referring to the asset in T4, aren’t you?” 

 

“Yep.”

 

“You of all people are smart enough to know I can’t talk about such things; it’s classified information,” Hoffstetler explained, furrowing his brow.

 

“I work in the lab just as you do. I’ve seen him with my own eyes. I just want to know what it is,” Carmen sat up straight. An aura of calmness and control emanated from the woman, and she returned Hoffstetler’s gaze with one of respectful authority. She was going to get the information she wanted.

 

“Alright, fine, but remember, you cannot tell anyone else this,” Hoffstetler warned. “The creature was found in the Amazon Jungle in South America. Down there, it was worshipped like a god. Strickland, I know you’ve met him, led the team that brought it up here. As for what it is? I have no idea.”

 

“You don’t know?” Carmen asked, shocked.

 

“No idea,” Hoffstetler confirmed. “But God, do I want to. It’s such a gorgeous creature, isn’t it? I want to learn as much as I can through observation, but Strickland and the higher ups have different ideas of learning,” He continued to ramble until he realized what he was doing, then a blush creeped onto his face. Carmen thought he was cute when he rambled, and even cuter when he was embarrassed about it. “I believe i’ve talked too much. I must go now. I trust you can find the exit located less than ten feet from you.” Carmen smiled at him as he stood up and opened the door.

 

“Have a good rest of your night, Doctor,” Carmen shot him a wink, and Hoffstetler smiled at her.

 

“And you as well, Miss Davis,” He said. He turned to leave, but stopped halfway. “ … I like talking to you, Miss Davis. Thank you for listening.” With that, he was gone. Carmen watched him leave and she finally let the dorky grin she was hiding out. She could be one hell of an actor when she wanted to be. 

 

Carmen left the office room and went to relay the information she learned to Elisa. It wasn’t much, and compared with what Elisa knew about the asset, they still didn’t know anything about him. Elisa seemed almost saddened by that. The rest of the night went smoothly, and Zelda was none the wiser about her and Elisa’s hijinks. When Carmen went home that night, she thought about the events that transpired and the information she had learned.

 

First, there was the asset. It was a River God from South America who was drug up to Baltimore by a bigot Carmen hated. She understood why it bit the man’s fingers off; she felt like doing the same thing too. Then, there was Hoffstetler. He seemed genuinely happy to see her, and he said he enjoyed talking to her. Carmen was ecstatic to hear that come out of the man’s mouth. The truth of the matter was that she enjoyed talking with him just much. He gave her respect no one had given her before, and now that she had it, she wasn’t sure she’d be willing to give it up anytime soon. Or ever, for that matter. 

 

“What have I gotten myself into?” Carmen murmured aloud to herself. 

  
_ What  _ had  _ she gotten herself into? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops it's been awhile since the last chapter. I've been goin through stuff + a lack of motivation, but I think i'm getting back into the swing of things now. Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!


	7. He Sees Me

Two weeks had passed. While her days used to be filled with boring monotony, the last two weeks were filled with joy and stomach butterflies. She had never had someone make such an impact on her in such a short time, yet Robert Hoffstetler did that to her. Just the small moments had a profound impact on her. Seeing him in the halls or in T4, the short conversations they had in his office, even when they saw each other in their apartment building. It filled her days with such happiness she couldn’t even begin to put into words. And, with every day that passed, Carmen could tell it was affecting Hoffstetler as well.

 

To most people, his reactions wouldn’t even be noticed, but Carmen noticed them all. She noticed the way his eyes would widen and a smile would grow on his face every time he saw her. She noticed how relaxed he looked around her compared to how he looked around others. She noticed how he would begin to ramble around her, but never around his peers. He always seemed genuinely happy to see her and Carmen was genuinely happy to see him. 

 

Carmen was currently on her one break of the night. She leaned against the wall of the loading dock and took a long drag of the cigarette she held, then lowered her hand and blew the smoke out of her lungs. Most of the other janitors were there too; they would usually all gather here and push up the camera so others couldn’t see them smoking. It was supposed to be prohibited, but that never stopped them before. Besides, Carmen liked to smoke in the middle of her shift. It helped her stay strong for the rest of the night. 

 

Carmen couldn’t help but think about Hoffstetler again. To her, he was perfect. He was absolutely gorgeous, despite the receding hairline. He looked especially good in vests; Carmen liked a well-dressed man. She also loved his intelligence, and his absolute passion for learning. Science was his first priority above anything else. He wanted to know everything he could, and Carmen respected that. Knowledge is power, as most people seemed to say. 

 

“Carmen? Carmen. Carmen!” Zelda called. Her voice broke Carmen out of her thoughts.

 

“What?” Carmen questioned, turning to face her.

 

“What’s got you so lost in thought, Hun?” Zelda asked. Elisa chuckled at that and signed H-O-F-F-S-T-E-T-L-E-R in response. Carmen blushed and looked away as a giant shit-eating grin covered Zelda’s face. Curse Elisa and her observant ways. “You’ve got a crush on that man, don’t you?”

 

“That could be a possibility,” Carmen responded shyly, covering her face with her hand in an attempt to hide the raging blush on her face. 

 

Zelda let out a boisterous laugh and said “Well, tell us about it!” Elisa and her were standing on both sides of her, boxing her in with no escape. 

 

“Well, what am I supposed to say?” Carmen asked. 

 

“Well, anything! Why you like him, what he’s like, what you’ve done together,” Zelda added a wink with that last statement and Carmen let out a snort.

 

“We haven’t done anything together, much to my dismay,” Carmen retorted. Elisa chuckled silently and Carmen lightly hit her on the shoulder. “And as for why I like him? I like him because he’s attractive, for one, but also because he respects me like i’m his equal. I’ve never had a man respect me like that.” Carmen’s eyes went soft as she imagined Hoffstetler in her mind. Zelda and Elisa both softened their demeanors as well at that statement. They both knew what it was like not having respect from men. 

 

“It’s like, when he looks at me, Zelda? Elisa? The way he looks at me, it’s like he doesn’t know what I lack. He sees me for me, and he’s happy to see me, anytime and anyplace.” Carmen smiled to herself as Hoffstetler came into her mind’s view, short yet beautiful with the most striking yet soft features she’s ever seen on a man. 

 

“I hope you get to be with him one day, Honey. You deserve it,” Zelda murmured, rubbing Carmen’s arm. Elisa nodded in agreement. After that, one of the other janitors pointed out that break was over and it was time to go back to work. Carmen begrudgingly said goodbye to her friends, then went back to her job. 

 

The rest of the night went on with relative ease. She got on the bus and went home with no difficulties or run-ins with any nasty people or cops, and she got to her apartment safely. She was playing with her cat when a knock on the door distracted her. She threw Babydoll’s ball across the room, to which the cat ran after like a dog, and then went to answer the door. 

 

“Hello?” Carmen asked as she opened the door. To Carmen’s happiness, Robert Hoffstetler was standing in the doorway with a friendly smile plastered on his face.

 

“Good afternoon, Miss Davis.” Hoffstetler’s voice was quiet and reserved, which only added to the comforting effect it had over Carmen. “I was wondering, if it’s not too much trouble, would you happen to have a bag of sugar I could borrow?” Carmen could hardly believe what was happening. Here was Hoffstetler, standing at her door asking for a bag of sugar. Wild.

 

“Of course, it’s no trouble at all!” Carmen assured, turned to retrieve the bag, then stopped. “Would you like to come in for tea?” Carmen asked. She watched as Hoffstetler’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and just the slightest hint of a blush appear on his face.

 

“Sure, why not?” Hoffstetler said. Carmen opened the door fully to let him in, and his steps were so soft Carmen would have thought he had practice in making his footsteps seem light. Now that he was inside, however, Carmen felt herself clamming up. Hoffstetler, the man she was hopelessly falling for, was inside of her apartment. Suddenly, Carmen remembered the other being in the room.

 

“You aren’t allergic to cats, are you?” Carmen asked, turning to look at Hoffstetler.

 

“Oh, no, do you have one?” Hoffstetler looked around until he met eyes with babydoll, who was lying on the couch, playing with his ball. Carmen walked over to him and picked him up, then went over to Hoffstetler to show him. 

 

“His name is Babydoll, he’s my son and I love him,” Carmen said, holding the cat up to Hoffstetler. He smiled and scratched Babydoll’s ear in turn. Carmen let Babydoll back onto the ground, then walked with Hoffstetler over to her kitchen. She poured two cups of green tea, then sat down one in front of Hoffstetler, who was sitting at her kitchen table, and put the other down across from him. She sat down, steepled her hands, and began her quest to make Hoffstetler fall in love with her.

 

“So, Doctor, tell me about yourself.” 

 

“What would you like to know?” Hoffstetler asked, lifting a brow at Carmen. 

 

“Whatever you feel like sharing,” Carmen replied, then took a sip of her tea. 

 

“Well, i’m 36-“ Hoffstetler began, but was cut off by Carmen’s loud snort. “What?” 

 

“I’m older than you. Two years,” She mused as a smile creeped onto her face. Hoffstetler smiled at that, too. 

 

“Well, you certainly don’t look your age,” Hoffstetler said with a certain air that Carmen knew he was flirting. 

 

“Are you trying to flatter me, doctor?” Carmen lifted a hand to her chest with a  feigned gasp, which elicited a chuckle from Hoffstetler. 

 

“I don’t know…” He took a long sip of tea while looking over the brim of the glass at Carmen. “Do you want me to flatter you?”

 

“Save it for later.” Carmen briefly wondered if a wink would be too much, so she decided to just give him a seductive glance. Who knows when that later would be, but he’d love for him to flatter her in other ways. They exchanged more small talk until Hoffstetler stood without warning.

 

“Miss Davis, I must thank you for the excellent tea, but it’s time for me to depart,” Hoffstetler said. Carmen stood up as well and walked him to the door. As Hoffstetler opened the door and turned to leave, Carmen placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. When he looked back at Carmen, she placed a hand on his cheek and pressed a soft, quick kiss to his lips. 

 

“Have a good rest of your day, Doctor.” Carmen was cheering on the inside as she watched his face turn pink. He nodded his head quickly, almost too quickly, then walked out of the apartment and to his own. Carmen only shook her head and chuckled at him as she shut the door. That fool.

 

He forgot the sugar.

**Author's Note:**

> God i hope i finish this lol


End file.
